When a “Code Blue” (also known as “code”) is called within a hospital, it indicates that a patient is in a life threatening state and requires immediate treatment. In many instances, treatment is administered according to a hospital life support protocol or guidelines, such as the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) algorithm. From an operational perspective, a specially stocked code cart (also known as a crash cart or trolley) is moved to the patient's bedside. The code cart is a set of trays, drawers, shelves, etc., on wheels that is used to transport and dispense emergency medication and equipment for Code Blue resuscitations to potentially save a patient's life. Documentation during the medical emergency is commonly performed manually on a separate Code Blue paper document. Once the Medical emergency has been concluded, the code cart must be cleaned and re-stocked. This usually involves the Pharmacy and Central Supply Departments physically removing the cart from the nursing unit. Since the nursing unit must always have a crash cart, a new fully stocked cart is delivered to the nursing unit.
“Code Blue” events are very stressful situations that require quick reactions to patient conditions that can change in an instant. Although barcode technology can be used to reduce errors in identification and management of medications, the workflow associated with typical Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) applications has proven to be too time-consuming to allow for use during medical emergencies. Incorporating BCMA into a medical emergency workflow is very difficult due to the time consuming, multi-step process that is required in a BCMA application to ensure the six rights of medication administration.
In addition, using clinical decision support tools to monitor and advise a clinician during a Medical emergency has been almost impossible due to the fast-paced workflow that is common in this life-and-death situation. For these reasons, many hospitals manage Code Blue documentation on paper. Data received from medical equipment (e.g., electrocardiogram or EKG monitors, ventilators, defibrillators, etc.) are typically not integrated into the code blue record. Other systems have attempted to provide some level of automation to the Code Blue process, but does not provide any data integration or decision support capabilities.